Friends of the Earth: Planning: Press for change: The planning green paper

The planning green paper - Frequently asked questions

The Government talks about giving people more of a say, so why is Friends of the Earth so critical?

While the Government talks about increasing public involvement, it is removing your existing rights to have a voice in local planning. The most obvious example of this is the Government's attempt to remove the right to be heard at a public inquiry into local policy. The Government also wants to take away local peoples rights to have your say over major infrastructure projects by restricting the remit of public inquiries to detailed issues such as mitigation measures and legal agreements. Participation in planning is only meaningful if it's backed by rights. The Government has ruled out third party rights which would have been a major step in creating a fair planning system.

Why does Friends of the Earth say the Government proposals are 'anti democratic'?

Government is taking powers from directly elected County Councils and Unitary Authorities and giving them to unelected regional assemblies. Some regions may have directly elected assemblies in the future but there is no guarantee that this will happen. The Government proposals also want Local Strategic Partnerships to have a big say on how the public are consulted. These partnerships are also unelected bodies and shouldn't have undue influence on local policy.

Does FOE welcome any of these proposals?

Yes, but the positives aspects of the Government proposals tend to be minor procedural changes and can't outweigh the Government's unacceptable attempt to dismantle the structure of the planning system.

But surely the planning system isn't working so doesn't it have to change?

The existing system has many flaws. Friends of the Earth made a series of positive proposals about the reform of the system and this is available on our web site. The key issue is that the Government has ignored community concerns and listened only to the business lobby. The CBI has hammered the planning system as being anti jobs and anti competitive. The problem is there's no real evidence to support this position. The CBI themselves have admitted their evidence is entirely anecdotal.

Won't reforming the planning system save us time and money by simplifying the system?

No, because the Government has not thought through how the new system will work. The best example of this is the proposal for Local Development Frameworks (LDF's) and Action Plans. LDF's will be replaced every three years, be substantially reviewed every year and subject to 'continual' updating. All parties will now be involved in continual consultation on local policy. In addition local authorities may adopt other action plans all of which have separate preparation process. The result is more complexity and more cost for everyone.

But don't we have the most restrictive planning system in the world?

No. Britain's planning system is unique in structure but all of Western Europe has strong regulatory systems to control the use of land. Some nations such as Eire, Denmark and New Zealand have more rights for the public and still run competitive economies. The USA does have less planning restrictions but the results are not altogether sustainable.

Won't giving the public a right of appeal slow down the system?

Friends of the Earth is proposing a qualified third party right of appeal that would only apply in large scale cases that involved a council giving a permission on land it owned or against its own policy. A joint research document has made clear that such rights are workable and would not unduly increase delay. The main issue is that such rights are vital if the system is to be made fair to the whole community. If you want more details of the case for third party rights see our web site.